Jameela was left with the managing of the people after the departure of Gavin, Omar, Saeed, and Valeriana to seek for the help of the dragons. She had been aware of the presence of the dragons in the Abyss as she once met a woman by the name of Delphyn, a drakaina in charge of herding dragons.

Due to an oath, she did not speak of the dragon colony, but rather a simple, sleeping, Bismuth dragon. Due to the hunting of the dragons back in the days, the matter was guarded with utter secrecy and the drakons would punish a slip of the tongue with great severity. As she had once saved a Bismuth dragon who had been lost due to curiosity, Delphyn owed her a favor. She wondered internally if those kids were able to figure out, or if they had even come close to decrypting what she had meant. They took it a bit literally, especially that girl.

She chuckled to herself as she wondered how they would go about 'waking the dragon'. If they did something utterly disturbing, it would cause a ruckus within the sanctuary, as dragons were normally very rowdy creatures so they were mostly put to sleep and awakened in intervals to feed or play.

If she only had the strength to move about, she would've done it herself. However, she was already an old woman, not to mention this young lad had caught the molten fever. With the severe heat, he had burned down the bed. Because of that, she had him transferred to a tub of water. As of the moment, it was boiling, steaming, and had already evaporated.

She looked at the young lord problematically. Honestly, how would she deal with this boy? Molten fevers reflected the true heat of their core fire, the source of the flames a fire-wielder wields. Seeing this young man boiling the coldest waters she could find made her contemplate the intensity of his fire.

She sat by the tub with a cup of fresh water and looked down at Corvan. "Child, wake up."

He only answered with a groan and a small, "Leave me alone."

"You must drink or you'll dry up and burn to nothingness. Open your mouth."

His eyes opened and he seemed dazed. He opened his mouth and misty breath escaped from his lips. Jameela poured the water down his lips and he drank it greedily. There was a commotion outside as the villagers were preparing to move into the caves Valeriana had discovered.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice weak.

"Your familiar has turned into a demon, according to that girl from before."

"Valeriana?" he said aloud. "Where is she?"

"They have gone to seek help, young lord. With what we are now, we cannot fight against a pack of demons who have the strength of twin-tailed lions," she said. "You must fight against the infection. With your bond, you are being affected."

Corvan breathed out weakly. He could not believe he was in this sort of dilemma. Not to mention, he was relying on other people other than himself.

"Your fire is surprising," Jameela commented. "With the fuel you have, it is impossible to burn out."

"What will happen if I burn out?" he asked. That would never happen anyhow, he told himself.

"I am unsure. But, you must continue fighting. You must thank your heritage. Such strong power," she continued. "They will return soon enough. For now, we must move."

"Move where?" he asked.

"I'm surprised you can still think coherently in this sort of condition," she told him. "The caves, of course. We cannot stay here. Judging by the nature of the twin-tailed lions, I'm sure they'll come back. That girl has suggested we take shelter in the caves full of those ember crystals. It will help protect us."

Corvan rose from the water, struggling. "They left without informing me?" he asked angrily.

"Do not get out of the tub, young lord," Jameela said.

"I will not lay around doing nothing!"

"You are ill, you have no choice," she replied. "Now, stay."

He was pushed back and was surprised by how easily he fell back. He had lost most of his strength that he was inwardly berating himself. He had never felt this weak ever since he was a child.

"Don't worry, as of the moment, they do not know who you are. It won't hurt your pride," Jameela said. "Now, come on. We must move."

(A/N: Currently collaborating with someone (hint: she's an illustrator!). If you want to be updated with the reveals, follow my FB page, MyLovelyWriter. Just in case you haven't read the note above. Just making sure!)

Majority of the group had already migrated to the caves. Corvan was still simmering hot so she had two men with the element of fire assist him. The caves were, as expected, full of ember crystals. Corvan was set against the cool walls as he struggled with very high fever.

Food and water were stacked against the walls. Hours of waiting had everyone setting up camp on different places. The caves were big enough to hold an entire village within.

Even so, they were all growing impatient and restless. It had been too long since the chief and the others set out to seek aid from the dragons. Jameela attended to Corvan earnestly, but she could not help but worry about the children. If something happened to them, she would carry the guilt for the rest of her life.

A familiar turning into a demon and its contractor fell into a sickly state. The connection between the two was being tainted and, with no doubt, if this continued, she would have to forcefully sever the connection between the two. It was unlikely to have Corvan, as well, turn into a demon. But the scenario of him dying because of it was not very far-fetched. Despite having handled the flames, if it continued burning him from the inside, he would most likely lose his life.

Jameela was surprised to see that he was able to remain conscious. It seemed as though the young lord had great willpower. He was a bit delusional, however, and his temper fluctuated.

"Jameela, what about the chief?" asked a man.

"I'm sure they'll arrive soon," Jameela calmly replied, nodding resolutely. "The lookouts have not spotted anything?"

"Nothing yet."

"Alright, that's good." She managed a sigh of relief.

It was an hour later when the sun had set and the moon had risen. Loud yells came from outside the cave. The man Jameela was talking to a few moments before came running to the woman, panicked.

"We see flying figures from a distance," he informed.

Jameela walked out as calmly as she could and looked up at the sky. True to the man's words, there were silhouettes headed their way. She could not help but frown at the sight and waved to the soldiers.

"Do as the chief had asked."

They brought out arrows and pointed to the sky.

"Do not fire until we get a clear vision of what they are."

Their hands shook in fear and sweat trickled down the sides of their faces from fear.

"Stay steady," Jameela commanded.

A few heartbeats later, a man yelled, "They're dragons!"

A smile floated to the woman's face and she was quick to act. "Down with the weapons."

"What?" They all looked at her in shock.

They weren't aware of the plans so, without a doubt, they would be taken aback by what they were told to do. Jameela gave them a reassuring smile and repeated her words. "Down with the weapons, they're our allies."

Though they were hesitant, they followed.

A large dragon descended from the sky, disturbing the calm air. Jameela's hair swayed with the wind as her eyes followed the dragon. It landed on the open ground and Valeriana came sliding down its wings. Gavin, Saeed, and Omar followed, disembarking their own rides. A bright smile lit up the darkness as the girl came running forward.

"We did it!" she yelled. Femeron, who was in her arms, looked equally excited. She waved to the dragon who gave her a ride. "Thanks, Amora!"

The dragon gave her a nod and shot off.

"Good work," the woman chuckled and eyed the little dragon. She did not comment on it, anyhow.

"You didn't tell us you knew Delphyn!" she quickly followed.

"I swore an oath," Jameela replied. "But it is a good thing you were able to convince them to help us. Did she accompany you?"

"Delphyn stayed behind to look after the younger dragons," Valeriana told her. "We did bring Vallore."

Another dragon landed this time and a cloaked man with glowing eyes alit. At first sight, Jameela knew. She nodded to the newcomer and smiled at the girl and her group. The men around them were more than baffled at the sight of such many rare celestial beasts.

"How's Corvan?" Valeriana quickly asked.

"He's in no better condition."

A flash of worry glimmered in her eyes. "Is he inside?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Lore, bring her to the boy."

Lore came forward and led Valeriana away. Jameela was left with Gavin and his two most trusted men, including the drakon.

Gavin greeted Jameela and was quick to start a conversation. "Why didn't you tell us? How did you meet Lady Delphyn?"

"Come inside and we'll discuss," she said. "You too, Vallore. The night is cold."

The cloaked drakon nodded mutely as she followed the healer within the caves.

As for Valeriana, she had practically dashed inside the cave when she heard that Corvan's condition had not improved since they left. She found him lying on a blanket on the cold, hard floor and she instantly felt that it wasn't too comfortable. The air around the guy was hot and humid as though the sun was glaring from above.

"He burned the bed and this is the only fireproof fabric we have," Lore informed her.

She sighed. Looking at Corvan made her feel helpless. She could not assist him directly because he was too . . . hot.

He was murmuring something under his breath as he kept turning his head. "Impertinent . . . fool."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Even in his delusions, he was scolding someone.

Femeron let out a small squeak as she saw Corvan. Her eyes lit up in delight and she quickly squirmed out of Valeriana's arms and crawled towards the guy. Valeriana was worried at first but then, she saw her baby dragon climbing on top of his chest. Femeron flapped her small wings and stretched out before curling up and lying down.

"What?" She raised a brow.

Corvan, in turn, suddenly seemed comfortable. His squirming ceased and the frown between his brows disappeared.

Jameela and the others walked in. Seeing the girl, they approached.

"What happened?"

"Femeron . . ." she trailed off.

"The young dragon," Jameela said, reaching out to test out Corvan's temperature. Her hand lingered for a few moments, as though she wasn't burned. "I see. She's absorbing the excess heat. I assume this dragon may feel cold. Younglings are especially prone to lowering their temperature."

"Is that good?"

"Corvan does seem more comfortable," Gavin observed.

"Where is this dragon's mother? It should've stayed back in the nest. I doubt she can be of any use aside from helping Corvan," Jameela said.

"I'm her mother!" Valeriana proudly announced.

She was taken aback. "I see. So it's like that," the old healer whispered.

"We should discuss what to do. How do we lure out Avaro's pack?" Gavin began. "We need to move fast."

Valeriana turned to her group. "About that—"

There was screeching from a distance, loud, grating roars echoing simultaneously. Dozens of malicious auras bombarded Valeriana's radar. Her mouth dropped open in shock and she screamed. "Guys!"

Tremor shook the ceiling. Valeriana stood in shock and they all exchanged knowing glances.

"Is that what I think it is?" Omar inquired, his brows furrowed.

They all ran out of the cave and saw the skies lit with fire. Dragons circled the vicinity and were on war against something else—the twin-tailed lions!

"They're here!" Omar exclaimed in horror.

"We aren't prepared!" Saeed followed. "Arland! We just came back!"

Vallore clicked his tongue in annoyance and dashed forward recklessly. He blew a sharp whistle with his fingers and yelled a name. "Palmer!" he called. "Klernyll! Amethyst! Amora! Lain!"

A big, jade dragon swept past and landed before him. The ground trembled at the impact, yet Vallore made no hesitance to jump forward and climb the dragon. Within a snap of a finger, he had taken off with a loud roar.

The four other dragons they rode their way back came once again.

"Jameela, make sure no one exits the cave. We'll draw the beasts away from here!" Gavin rushed forward and boarded Lain after whispering a permission to ride its back.

Valeriana took a deep breath. Seemed as though they weren't going to get any rest.

A flare of a powerful presence came from her right. She looked up and her gaze met the glowing eyes of Avaro. He was perched above high ground, overlooking the area with keen, black eyes. Then, as if he was but a whiff of air, he disappeared.

"I'll take you back, Avaro, for Corvan."

She approached the red dragon, Amora, and climbed her back through the wings. She was a gentle fella and was very sensitive of Valeriana on her back. A very considerate dragon.

"Come on, Amora! Let's go."